Kwandwe Private Game Reserve landscape features the valley bushveld on open plains and rolling hills, with succulent euphorbias, aloes and spekboom among the area's typical plantlife. Kwandwe is a sanctuary to a range of animals, thousands of them, including the Big Five and various species of Antelope. This is also a bird watcher's paradise with the endangered Blue Crane among a wide variety of birds found at the reserve.
The malaria-free Kwandwe Private Game Reserve, situated just 2 hours northeast of Port Elizabeth, is also home to a large population of birds including the Fish Eagle and the endangered Blue Crane from which the reserve derives its name. 'Kwandwe' means 'Place of the Blue Crane' in Xhosa.
Besides natural beauty, Kwandwe has a rich history dating back thousands of years when the Khoi and San people inhabited the area and the documented Frontier Wars of 1779-1878 between the Dutch Settlers and the Xhosa nation.
The touch of the 1820 Settlers is entombed almost everywhere, from the beautiful architecture and art in towns like Grahamstown and Fort Beaufort to the colonial furniture and fittings that were brought to manor houses. Ecca Lodge combines that classic touch with a hip contemporary feel.
Ecca Lodge, deliberately designed to blend with its spectacular landscape surroundings, overlooks the Great Fish River. This magnificent river bears a lot of historical significance for its role as a hotly contested border during the Frontier Wars.
Getting to Kwandwe Private Game Reserve
Ecca Lodge in Kwandwe Private Game Reserve is 160 km from Port Elizabeth (2 hours drive). There are daily flights from Cape Town and Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth - from there you can self-drive or catch a charter flight to Kwandwe private airtstrip.
